All storm water management systems shall be designed to minimize the need for maintenance, to provide easy vehicle (typically eight feet or wider) and personnel access for maintenance purposes, and to be structurally sound. All storm water management systems shall have a plan of operation and maintenance that assures continued effective removal of pollutants carried in storm water runoff. The City Engineer may inspect all public and private storm water management systems at any time. Inspection records will be kept on file at the City Engineer’s office. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to obtain any necessary easements or other property interests to allow access to the storm water management system for inspection and maintenance purposes. The owner must perform routine maintenance and inspections that are required annually and includes mowing grass, controlling weeds and woody vegetation, repairing eroded areas and removing debris. A ponds buffer should be maintained as a meadow, prairie or forest with no more than two mowings annually at a height of no less than four inches. The owner must perform non-routine maintenance which includes sediment cleanout and major structural repairs when needed. Inspections for non-routine maintenance items must occur at a minimum of every five years. Sediment cleanout must occur when 50% of the permanent pool storage volume is sediment. The City Engineer shall retain enforcement powers for assuring adequate operation and maintenance activities through perm it conditions, penalties, non-compliance orders and fees.
(2004 Code, § 54.24) (Ord. 07-0462, passed 4-24-2007; Ord. 08-0497, passed 3-25-2008)